The Fish Police are back with their brand new single Cactus taken from the upcoming EP ‘Edge Myself to the Middle’!

The Independent has described it as: “Joyful in its simplicity, a funk guitar line, glitching synth and 808 drums sitting under frontman Dean Rodney Jr.’s matter-of-fact, resolute vocals suffused with positivity.”Read the full review and listen to the track here!

The band are launching the new EP at South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas! But they need your need help to get there, you can support this adventure by donating here!

Make sure you follow The Fish Police on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram because next week they’ll be releasing the next single and music video!

They will be looking at different ways of seeing the world as musicians and how they collaborate together as artists with and without learning disabilities.

Our Own Thing

It was amazing to see so many talented young from Do Your Own Thing people making music and art at LSO St Luke’s last Friday! Thanks to everyone involved in performing, watching and supporting – you helped make Our Own Thing a night to remember!
Check out photos of the night here and keep an eye on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as there will be a video of the event soon!

SoundLab

Too Hot for Candy have just finished filming their new video for a SoundLab project they’ve been working on with Grace Savage, more will be revealed in April!
Have you visited our SoundLab website recently? Over the last three years we have explored how digital music making technologies can be used to help people with learning disabilities make the music they want to make. Visit the website to find out how you can share, learn and play!

Allsorts

Join us every week from Thursday 22 February until Thursday 29 March for the new season of Allsorts! This year we start with The Season of Choice and will have more variety than ever, ranging from beatboxing to Strictly Come Dancing!
Find out more about the programme on our website.

Do Your Own Thing

Don’t forget that Do Your Own Thing returns on Saturday 17 February in it’s new home at The Albany, where we’ll be making more art and music! To find out more about Do Your Own Thing, visit the webpage here.

Heart n Soul Choir

It’s the final Heart n Soul choir session todaybefore Allsorts starts again, check out future dates on the website. Don’t forget you can see them perform tonight at our Deptford Club Night at Buster Mantis! Heart n Soul’s Club DJs will also be there playing tunes for you to dance to, we can’t wait to see you there!

Spaceheads is a duo that graft the sound of technology. They generate a fusion of jazz, funk, dance, electro and indie to create an inimitable sound of their own.

Andy Diagram has played trumpet through loopers and effects with various bands from the bright leftfield pop indie heroes ‘James’ to the darker abstract sounds of Pere Ubu’s David Thomas. He has taken the sound of the trumpet into the heart of alternative music (recently integrated a mobile phone to transform a single horn into the full sound of widescreen cinematic brass!) Richard Harrison‘s unusual drum beats and percussive trickery utilses tin cans, bottles, sheets of metal and a pair of squeaky toy pigs.
This performance follows hot on the heels of the release of their new 13-track ‘A New World In Our Hearts’ from their 13th album, which is inspired by peoples’ struggle for a better world.
The Spaceheads’ experience is accompanied by Rucksack Cinema with live mixing of video images. Enjoy b&w films of steam trains, 1920s space films, clips from classic movies combined with images of the universe, spinning stars and psychedelic swirls from floor to ceiling…
Welsh anarcho punx, Mwstard hail from Pembrokeshire and are supporting Spaceheads at the next TRANSIT. Describing themselves as “DIY Pre-post punk kift disco band” they have new material to share with their fans. This will be your only chance of seeing them and their funky projections in West Wales this year – so don’t miss it!

Caitlin was the wife of poet Dylan Thomas. At the start of the 70s, twenty years after he died, she started going to Alcoholics Anonymous. In a circle of 20 chairs, set out for an AA meeting Caitlin makes a determined effort to deal with her tempestuous past. The audience of just 16-20 sits with Caitlin in the circle as she revisits her life with Dylan. The unoccupied chairs become part of the action in this physical and powerful duet. The audience are placed at the heart of action and are witness to Caitlin’s recounting of a relationship that was fuelled by love, addiction, jealousy and infidelity. The work is brutal and tender, physically powerful and at times grotesque.

Directed by Deborah Light. Devised with and performed by Eddie Ladd and Gwyn Emberton.

Performance / Residency at Ucheldre, Holyhead

Award winning sign dance theatre company Signdance Collective International are delighted to announce their forthcoming performance, Carthage/Cartagena by renowned playwright, Caridad Svich at the Ucheldre Centre in Holyhead on the 24th March. (13+)

Signdance Collective will also be in residency from 21st 23rd March which is open to everyone aged 13+ who is interested in developing their creative skills. The residency is open 6:00pm – 9.00pm Tuesday 21st, Wednesday 22nd, Thursday 23rd and there are some free spaces available.

Carthage/Cartagena explores the impact on those displaced and isolated by slavery, human trafficking and forced migration. The performance text presents a series of ten multi-lingual letter song-poems from metaphorical places of dislocation. This beautiful work by Village Voice Life Time achievement winner, Caridad Svich is presented as a hybrid dance theatre piece incorporating dance, theatre, music and languages both spoken and signed.

Signdance Collective was founded by Isolte Avila and North Wales actor, David Bower. From Holyhead, Signdance Collective will continue on a UK tour before travelling to New York, and Slovenia.

OPEN SPACE NORTH

Open Space – no agenda, no plans, no boundaries… You decide the discussion.

The question we will be exploring on the day is:

‘How do we build on the recent successes of dance in Wales?’

This is an opportunity for you to create the agenda and choose the topics, and discuss any issues and burning questions you may have about the dance sector in Wales.

National Dance Company Wales will host this Open Space in partnership with Dawns i Bawb. Overseeing and facilitating the event will be Freelance Director/Producer and founder of Omidaze Productions, Yvonne Murphy.

This is your chance to network and share your thoughts and aspirations for the future of dance in Wales.

Please register your interest by emailing Kelly.barr@ndcwales.co.uk with your contact details and any access needs. We will endeavour to make the event fully-bilingual, so please inform us if you would like to participate through the medium of Welsh.

Please RSVP by Monday 20th February.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

NDCWales is performing its Spring Tour 2017, The Green House and Profundis at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, the same evening at 7.30pm. If you are interested in attending, alongside Open Space North, please contactKelly.barr@ndcwales.co.ukfor ticket offers.

The MaDCaff Project, led by Miranda Betts, with support from Disability Arts Cymru has secured funding from Time to Change Wales to put on MaDCaff, stigma-busting open cafe events in Ceredigion.

Miranda Betts from New Quay has secured funding from Time to Change Wales to put on MaDCaff, a much-needed new music and dance project across Ceredigion. These open cafe events will showcase the talents of local musicians and dancers who are, or have been affected by mental illness. The MaDCaff Launch Event will take place at 4.30-7pm on Friday March 21st, in Aberystwyth University Students’ Union bar. Tickets are free from Eventbrite and you can buy a £3 refreshment voucher on the door.

There will be a ‘swap-shop’ at each cafe event, where people can bring and swap CDs, books, clothes etc, as well as time to talk and meet new people, and of course, tea and cake! The swap theme at the first event is CDs.

Miranda is hoping to attract people both with and without experience of mental health conditions to come along and enjoy the music and dance performances. “The main aim behind the project is to give musicians and dancers with mental health problems a safe space to share their stories, skills and talents, and to get people together, talking about mental health”, says Miranda. People with either personal or professional experience of Mental Health conditions are equally welcome.

Mental health problems affect 1 in 4 people in any year; it could be you, someone in your family, a friend or colleague. Time to Change Wales is the first national campaign to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems in Wales. For further information contact Miranda on westmadcaff@gmail.com. Or look us on Facebook or at our Blog, madcaff.wordpress.com.

The MaDCaff Project is funded by Time to Change Wales and supported by Disability Arts Cymru.

Music Without Frontiers – 29 March – 1 April 2013

There’s a new festival coming to West Wales, it is the first arts sponsored project for Rhosygilwen and they hope it will be well supported now and in the future.
It is an international performing arts festival and tickets are on sale now. They have excellent parking and disabled facilities making easy access for all and are excited to be offering music and dance from Colombia, Ireland, Wales, India, Europe & USA over the Easter weekend. They also have a great accommodation package for this first event at £199 for 4 days luxury B&B mansion accommodation which includes a festival pass to all events!